Publication Date: December 2, 2025
The internationally bestselling author of The Woman on the Ledge returns with a twisty thriller about a missing child and three adults whose shared secrets and hidden history could prove deadly.
“I need to report a crime. My baby has been stolen.”
All Lauren wants is a new life in Spain. She’s suffered an unimaginable loss, but at last she has found a home in the pretty seaside town of Mantilla de Mar. Everyone deserves a new start, and Lauren needs to put her past firmly behind her.
Hope has everything: an interesting career as a therapist, an attractive husband, a dream home in the countryside – and, finally, the baby she always longed for. Sam. Her beautiful boy.
But Sam has gone missing.
So when the police tell her that a woman has been found in Spain with a child matching Sam’s description, Hope thinks that her nightmare might be coming to an end.
But Lauren is insisting Sam is her baby. She even has his passport and birth certificate to prove it.
So what really happened to Baby Sam? And who still has secrets to hide?
One child. Two mothers. And a past that won’t let them go.
One child named Samuel. Two women claiming to be his mother.
Author Ruth Mancini sets the stage for a psychological thriller in The Day I Lost You. From the beginning, the author creates possible scenarios that might account for a baby being taken from his mother.
Whether it is a surrogacy arrangement or child abduction/trafficking, it’s clear that Lauren is hiding Sam in Spain while his parents, Hope and Drew, are in England.
The timing used in the storyline creates some confusion with the flashback chapters, so attention is required to keep the sequencing straight. However, that foundation is vital in understanding the connections to the present.
The characters illustrate a set of flawed people, all of whom contribute to the shocking twists that unfold.
The Day I Lost You showcases dangerous secrets connecting love and loss.
Ruth Mancini is an author and criminal defense lawyer. Her background as a solicitor adds authenticity to her crime and psychological fiction. She has spent two decades representing those accused of crimes, navigating courtrooms and police stations. Her storytelling prowess and legal background combine to create thrilling reads that will keep you guessing until the very end, including the Sunday Times bestseller The Woman on the Ledge. Ruth was born in London and now lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and two children.
